Geolocation system
What’s behind the phrase employee geolocation?
Breaking down the keyword geolocation of employees into smaller parts, we can say that it has to do with terrain, location and employees. So in InnerWeb, we are dealing with information about the location of employees on the premises. This can be compared to video surveillance in a plant, except that in the case of a camera, we have a single stream of data in the form of an image and can display it in a window on a monitor. Geolocation of employees and facilities gives us hundreds or even thousands of data streams collected in one place.
In the case of monitoring, the collected data is transformed into information by reviewing the recordings and drawing conclusions from the observations. This can be done in person or with the help of a sophisticated image analysis program. This requires spending valuable time or money. With geolocation, there is no need to do so. The data is processed automatically as early as the collection stage, allowing real-time access to a vast amount of information, such as:
- The current location of the employee in question
- Current location of equipment / object on the move
- Total working time by location
- Print or preview the movement of an employee/group of people over time
- Information about the current risks to which the employee is exposed at the location
Geolocation therefore makes it possible to generate:
- Automated employee risk assessment card
- Notifications of entering the danger zone
- Alerts on dangerous events (including fire protection)
- Maps of the industrial plant with the “living tissue” in the form of workers plotted on them
- Location of workers for evacuation / firefighting purposes
- Reducing the number of phone calls
- Benefits of effective work coordination
- Benefits of quick access to location information
- Savings from analysis of production processes, including employees
- Effective management of external companies and guests
- Higher level of safety for employees and the production facility
- Reporting potential witnesses in the event of an accident
In fact, the list of information and possible reports that can be generated using geolocation data is endless. It’s a whole new knowledge and area for analysis in many aspects of the organization, from health and safety, logistics, purchasing, maintenance, production, technical department, management, to charters, PR and investor presentations.
The most valuable values emerge at the bottom of a plant’s organizational structure – among employees. They know how far up the hierarchy the person they are looking for is. Instead of making a phone call – it’s better to walk up and get the job done right away. To find specialized equipment, an injection mold, a forklift, a ladder, a tool cart and other tools – just use the list of equipment locations. There is information about the last location of the equipment, as well as a scanner that will track down the wanted item. It is possible that the employee will receive a notification. It is enough to fulfill one of the conditions, which was to raise the ALARM in case of such a situation. In this way, it is possible to receive a notification that the boss or manager is in the hallway. Notification that a person has stopped using a particular piece of equipment and is now free, or that our partner has already returned to the workplace. Access to real-time information through geolocation is the most powerful tool at work.
The tool is already available in the Internet of Things market as part of Industry 4.0
The information should be accessible both from the mobile app and from any computer.
Much of the information is available “at a glance,” and those that require printouts can be accessed from a computer on or off the job. Storing geolocation data is very economical, as stored data takes up much less space compared to high-quality surveillance cameras.
The difference remains between the company and the service that provides geolocation of employees.
If the solution provides multiple options and is not limited to indicating the space in which the employee or facility is located, it is ideal. Solutions that do not require the employee to carry something more or change existing habits are preferred. If it only requires replacing existing passive cards with active cards or installing an app on a mobile device, such a solution will be received much warmer than one that requires carrying additional inconvenient electronic devices.
The best solution on the market today for geolocating people and objects is BLE technology, which requires the installation of a dense network of iBeacons. Such an installation has huge potential for development. Information systems can be built on its basis. It is used for: electronic work permits, work scheduling, work acceptance, reporting system failures, storing machine and equipment records, etc. Such a network is based on high system reliability. Damage to a BLE beacon does not significantly affect the operation of the system, only its accuracy.
The InnerWeb® service is worth looking into. The company of the same name is a leader in the global geolocation and e-Permissions market, specializing in dense networks of iBeacons. It’s a Polish innovation based in the capital of Podbeskidzie.